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For more than a few years now, the headlines have consistently reflected how India will one day prove to be a huge market for Apple's iPhone and the smartphone industry at large.

The future, it seems, has finally arrived.

According to a new report in The Times of India, Apple will have a banner year in India over the next twelve months, generating some $1 billion in sales in this emerging market alone.

These figures predate the aggressive marketing strategies adopted by Apple in the past six months, and experts say it is possible that Apple India’s strong showing in 2011-12 woke the company up to the country’s potential.

“The huge jump in revenues has made the company realize India’s potential. Apple is now chasing volumes and looking at the numbers game,” Manasi Yadav of IDC was quoted in the report.

Although Apple (and Samsung) will make big bucks in India during the months ahead, the latest industry data shows that both Apple and Samsung are losing ground - and fast - to the makers of substantially more affordable devices (read more from MMi's recent report).